"You didn't change your mind?" Rumble asked.
"No, Rumble. For the umpteenth time, I'm not changing my mind I said I'd be there."
"You might end up regretting it." Rumble cautioned.
"Well that's for me to regret later, and enjoy now. Let's just get this over with." Scootaloo said. She hung her head and called back to her parents inside.
"See you guys at dinner." She called out.
"Bring her home no later then ten. Got that Rumble?" Scootaloo's father looked up from across the room and gave Rumble the coldest stare he could muster, freezing the poor colt into place.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be here. Bye Dad." Scootaloo said, taking Rumble's hoof and breaking him out of his stance. She pulled him out the door and shut it.
"Come on." Scootaloo said, tugging Rumble until he was able to move his hooves again. Which took a bit longer than it should've. They were halfway there before he stopped sweating and started moving on his own again.
"Sorry." he apologized.
"Whatever, just don't make me baby you like that again." Scootaloo said.
"Sorry." Rumble repeated.
Before another word could be said, the two arrived. Of course, as soon as they got to the door, it swung open and Storm appeared. "There you two are." she smiled. "We were looking for you, didn't want to start without everyone here." she giggled.
"Sorry we're being late, my Dad gave Rumble quite a scare." Scootaloo said with a smirk.
"Oh, I see." Storm giggled with Scootaloo while Rumble blushed.
"Come in, come in, we're all waiting for you." Storm walked in, and the pair followed. As soon as they walked into the living room, Thunderlane perked up.
"Finally! What took you so long?" he asked.
"They got a bit held up, but the important thing is that they're here now."
"Alright, let's get started. What do you want to do first Blossom?" Rumble's father asked.
"Let's start with the first." Blossom suggested.
"Perfect! I absolutely love that one." Storm said excitedly.
Scootaloo sat next to Blossom on the sofa and looked at the scrap books on the floor. To her surprise, there wasn't as many as she thought they'd be. At least, nowhere near as much as the Apple Family's. Scootaloo looked to the two boxes sitting unopened next to Blossom and raised a curious eyebrow.
"Curious?" Blossom asked, catching her gaze. Scootaloo nodded. "Go ahead, I won't mind." Scootaloo knelt down next to the boxes and pulled out a large scrapbook, two others of similar sizes sat at the bottom of the box. But they all differed in color and decoration, and apparently, given the different pictures on the cover, different themes.
"These are yours?" Scootaloo asked.
Blossom smiled and nodded. "My mother decided to give them to me once I moved out. Since all these things have been doing was take up space in the attic, I decided that it was time to put them to good use." Blossom explained.
She eyed the scrapbook Scootaloo had in her hooves and grinned. "You found my parent's old album." she smiled. She took the book and flipped through the pages, showing them to Scootaloo as she did so. In it way a gray pegasus stallion with turquoise hair, and blue eyes. And her mother stood next to him, with lighter blue eyes and very light pink coat. She had short pink hair that matched her daughter's, and the same smile on her face.
"They were so happy together, especially after, so my mother tells me, I came along. But life happens, and they're not together anymore. A shame if you ask me, but they both help me out and love me the same.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Scootaloo said.
"Don't be, they're living happily now. And my father is especially glad now that I'm getting married. Though, he thinks I could've done a bit better. Just like all Dads, huh?" Blossom chuckled.
"Tell me about it." Scootaloo agreed. Blossom kept flipping through the pages until she settled on a picture of her as a baby. She carefully took it out of the book and set it to the side.
"That'll work. How's it going over there Thunderlane?" Blossom asked.
"Well, Mom and Dad are gushing over my baby pictures. Especially this one," Thunderlane gave her a picture of him as a foal, walking on the ceiling.
Blossom and Scootaloo giggled. "I think this'll do fine." She set the photo to the side next to her other picture.
"Oh, look at this!" Storm said, everyone turned her direction as she held up a picture of Thunderlane as a colt, holding a baby Rumble in his arms with a missing tooth. "I thought I lost this one." she said. "Glad I didn't."
"Really takes me back." Rumble's Dad said.
"It does." Thunderlane agreed, looking at another picture of Rumble."
"I bet you're glad that I had this idea aren't you?"
"I always was." Thunderlane said defensively.
"Sure, and that 'maybe we could do something else,' comment you made yesterday totally suggests that." Blossom said sarcastically.
"Okay, you caught me." Thunderlane replied, holding his hooves up.
"Now that you mention it, I was wondering why you felt like doing this." Scootaloo stated.
"Well I was doing a lot of thinking about decorations. And I eventually started thinking about our relationship, and everything that happened from the time we met and now. So I got the idea to represent this in the wedding, to show how far we've come together. It'd be far more interesting than saying it. It's like the saying goes, 'A picture's worth a thousand words,' ."
"Well, with the amount of pictures we've got, we might as well be rewriting the dictionary." Rumble's father stated.
Everyone kept looking through the albums, laughter was heard, and blush was seen from embarrassed ponies, and a bit more than a few tears were shed. Mostly from Storm.
The pile next to Blossom had grown so big a spare box was needed to hold them. When everyone came across the last album, Scootaloo at that point was half-asleep, and drifting off every few minutes.
"Tired Scootaloo?" Rumble asked knowingly.
"What?" Scootaloo said snapping awake. "No, I'm fine."
"You're eyes don't say so." Rumble replied. "You want me to take you home?"
"No, I can stay, I'm fine Rumble." Scootaloo said. Rumble shrugged.
"Alright, just let me know otherwise."
Blossom Forth smiled once she came across pictures of her and Thunderlane together. "Look Thunderlane," Blossom held up a picture for him to see, and he immediately started grinning.
"Oh yeah, that trip to the beach." he said with a grin. "I'd love to see you in that bathing suit again."
Blossom blushed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever." she replied. She set the picture in the box.
"Okay, last one." Rumble said, offering a picture to the pair.
"Nice choice little bro." Thunderlane said with a ruffle of his brother's mane.
"Perfect." Blossom said. She took the picture from him and turned to Scootaloo. "Wha do you th-" she stopped abruptly when she saw the young mare's eyes were shut, and that she was breathing softly, leaning on the pillow of the couch.
"I knew it." Rumble said with a shake of his head. "I guess that means I should take her home now. Thanks for letting her come guys."
"Not a problem little bro, we wouldn't have finished without her. Though, hopefully next time, she won't fall asleep." Thunderlane said with a wink. Blossom snickered before quickly covering her mouth.
"Make sure you come back safely. Goodness knows what can happen next in this town." Storm cautioned.
"I will." Rumble walked over to Scootaloo and shook her shoulder.
Scootaloo groaned and turned to her side. Rumble sighed and tried again, getting the same response.
"Looks like you're going to have to carry her." His Dad said with a smile. Rumble sighed again before giving in. He took one of Scootaloo's hooves and pulled her onto his back, wrapping her forelegs around his neck as she laid on his backside.
"See you guys later." Rumble said. He walked out the door into the windy evening, the stars shining with all their might as he walked. He couldn't help but blush when Scootaloo wrapped tightened the grip on his neck. He smiled while her heart throbbed against his back side. She breathed softly into his neck, sending a tingle up his spine, she was pretty light on his back.
He made sure she wasn't slipping off of him and that she held on tight to him. When she shifted a small bit, and tightened her grip, she mumbled something he could barely make out.
"Rumble," she said.
He didn't know why, but something about her saying his name, made him feel elated. He felt heat flow into his cheeks as he smiled wider. To him, it was the best feeling in the world to have her there, in such a peaceful state, like the way she was.
He finally approached her home and rung the doorbell. Her father answered and looked at Rumble in a state of shock.
"She fell asleep at my house, is it okay if I put her in her bed?" Rumble asked softly.
Her father nodded. "Sure, go ahead, she had a pretty long day." he stepped out of the way and went to the kitchen. Where his wife sat.
As Rumble passed by with Scootaloo on his back, she couldn't help but smile at the sight.
Rumble climbed the stairs timidly, making Scootaloo wouldn't slip off. Once he made it in her room, he slipped her forelegs off of his neck, and slid her onto her bed. Where she shifted for a second or so, to the point in which Rumble was afraid she'd wake-up, before settling in one position and smiling. Rumble couldn't help but have the urge to kiss her.
But he didn't want to wake her up, so he settled for one on the head, before quickly leaving and shutting the door behind him.
"Thanks." her father said once he came downstairs. "I appreciate you bringing my daughter home safely." He set a hoof on Rumble's shoulder and nodded to him to show his thanks. "Keep it up Rumble." he said. He patted Rumble's shoulder again before going back into the kitchen.
'Glad to return the favor,' he thought to himself. He then smiled and let himself out. He couldn't help but think about the picture he showed to Blossom with her and Thunderlane, still able to feel the ghost of Scootaloo's forelegs on his neck he smiled. The image of Blossom kissing a blushing Thunderlane's cheek fresh in his mind.